Nerd Culture Podcast

I saw a tweet recently that said that all movies based on TV shows were bad, basically because they, more often than not, went for the nod & wink to the audience and instead of laughing with the the program that inspired them, preferring to laugh at them. Now at first thought I would agree with this statement. Most of them do in fact do this, and lets face it, most of them suck because of it. But while researching this article I was surprised to find that not all TV based films are crap, and in fact, some of them are actually pretty good. I also found that these films aren’t a recent trend. There are cinematic versions of classic TV shows dating back to the 50’s and were actually kind of a big deal.

The list of these films is quite extensive, so I decided to limit myself to the following: no animated (so no Simpsons The Movie, which lets face it is basically a long episode of the show, or SpongeBob Squarepants, which is a shame ’cause it’s hilarious), no sketches or shorts stretched into a movie (so no Blues Brothers unfortunately), no films used to finish or extend the show (ie Firefly/Serenity or Twin Peaks), no Star Trek (they’ll get their own Spotlight On), and no telemovies – cinema releases only. I’m also not going to do the Dr Who movies, I’ll leave them for Richo and his Who Reviews. That still leaves a heap of options so this article will be split into 2 parts. I hope you enjoy it!

Get Smart

Fun Fact: Get Smart actually had an earlier cinema release called The Nude Bomb (1980). It was a total bomb (pun intended) and nominated for a Golden Raspberry. It was so bad that the revival TV show ignored it completely for continuity.

Released: 2008

Directed by: Peter Segal

Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin & Dwayne Johnson

Plot: Maxwell Smart, analyst and wannabe agent for the secret spy agency CONTROL, working alongside the experienced Agent 99, must prevent KAOS, an enemy agency, from detonating a nuclear bomb in America and save the President.

For: I’m a big Steve Carell fan. I think he’s good in everything he’s in, it’s just that he’s often in very ordinary films / Doesn’t disrespect the source / Alan Arkin is great / Patrick Warburtin as Hymie / a few laughs / Terrence Stamp always good

Against: Doesn’t seem to know whether it wants to be a comedy or an action movie and so fails at both. The action isn’t exciting enough and the comedy relies too much on Carell’s natural charm / the love story simply doesn’t convince.

Favourite Scene: Hymie / the Cone of Silence.

Rating: 2 Lukes

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Cataclysm is an independent graphic novel from the mind of writer/artist Armando Batista.

It currently has 2 volumes, but my review will be focusing on Vol 1.

It tells the story of an Atlantis-like island city ruled by a shadowy Council with dark secrets to protect, and a group of rebels, called the Militia, who plot against this Council. In the middle of all this are two brothers Sorrentine & Ambrose, who are going through their own issues and are destined to be major parts of the island’s future.

Right from the start you are thrown into the action, as a pair of armour clad soldiers go up against a huge robot. It is an exciting and well paced intro and a great start. Its biggest draw however is the coloring. The majority of the book is in black and white but certain select sections, including the opening sequence and the introduction of the Council, are highlighted with a powerful blue that really enhances the art, much like the splashes of red (and yellow) used by Frank Miller for Sin City.

Other colours are used in later parts of the book, but for me, none of them work quite as well as this blue.

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This week I am reviewing the new Dark Horse Star Wars series by Brian Wood.

I have been a Star Wars fan for quite a few years. I have watched the six films many times and although Episodes I to III did not live up to the hype, the two trilogies rank very high on my movie lists.

When I started my journey into comics, Star Wars was a familiar franchise so Star Wars comics were always going tickle my fancy. From some research there have been many different series ranging from many different timeframes in the Star Wars universe. I have read 2 or 3 different Star Wars series and so far I have not been disappointed. If you would like to know which other series I have read let me know and I’ll reveal all.

So far in this series written by Brian Wood and art by Carlos D’Anda there have been two issues released and I have read them both.

This series is set shortly after the ending of Star Wars Episode IV and is split into three storylines:

1. Luke and Leia’s search for a new base for the rebellion;
2. Han and Chewie’s quest for Mon Mothma; and
3. The consequences for Darth Vader after the Death Star was destroyed.

Of the three storylines so far I am enjoying Darth Vader’s the most. After the destruction of the Death Star, he is out of favour with the Emperor and I cannot wait to find out what he does to get back in the Emperor’s good books. That being said the other two storylines are well written and are quite intriguing. It is fun doing the voice of Chewbacca in my head.

The artwork by Carlos D’Anda is really good throughout the first two issues. I was really impressed with how both Leia and Darth Vader were drawn.

I give these two comics 4.5/5 Lukes.

This series will have a permanent spot on my pull list for quite some time.  It has been quite a popular series so far so it might be tricky to find the first two issues but never fear as you can always wait for trade.

I would love to hear your feedback.  Please comment below or you can contact me via Twitter @bennykane1983.  If you have suggestions on other titles that I should read would love to hear from you.

Look out for my next review soon.

Benny

Bursting from the minds of Stjepan Šejić and Ron Marz comes the fantasy adventure tale Ravine.

The original story was created by Šejić almost 11 years ago. He now not only illustrates the title, but also co-writes it with his friend, and industry veteran, Ron Marz.

The pair have worked together on titles like Witchblade, Angelus & Artifacts for some years now and the ease at which they collaborate is obvious.

Ravine deals with the story of Nebezial Asheri, driven mad by grief at the deaths of his wife and daughters, and his quest to bring them back to life. To do this he risks unleashing the same level of magic that almost split the world in two and left a massive ravine in the land like a scar. He faces multitudes of people attempting to stop him, with the story focusing on a small group of uneasy allies.

Arranged as a series of graphic novels, Ravine is reminiscent of the European style of publishing comics, and is a bold move in the Western market. However, I believe it is a stroke of genius. The concept of ‘waiting for trade’ is firmly entrenched in the minds of modern comics buyers and having to read Ravine in the bite sized format of monthly issues just wouldn’t have conveyed the same sense of ‘epicness’ and grandeur that the graphic novel sized installment would. And this book is huge – 120+ pages of story combined with DVD style extras like a glossary, cast of characters, pinups, and a prose story equal great value for money. Of course now that I’ve read vol #1 I’m left with the same urgent need to know what happens next that I would have gotten from single issues, but you can’t have everything!

It has been compared to A Song of Fire and Ice in other reviews, (it’s back cover even mentions A Game of Thrones), but I think that is a disservice. Not every epic fantasy rides the coattails of Tolkien or Martin and that is definitely not the case here. Šejić and Marz have crafted a tale of love, betrayal, intrigue and adventure that rises above typical fantasy trappings and sets a new standard.

That is partly due to Marz’s skill with words helping bring Šejić’s original ideas to life, his skill at describing the situation means he almost doesn’t even need the art, but that would be a travesty because the real star here is Šejić’s art. Forgive my use of a parlance of our times here but O.M.G! This guy is amazingly talented. Every panel feels alive and the imagery is amazing. I confess I’m not really much of a Top Cow reader, barring an occasional nostalgic dip into the world of Cyberforce, but upon finishing this book I immediately logged onto my favourite online comic shop and ordered every Ron Marz/Stjepan Šejić trade they had! I’m kicking myself that I didn’t know about Stjepan beforehand, but now that I do I’ll be watching his career very closely.

And of course, part of that will be by collecting Ravine. This is an excellent book and its creators should be very proud of their efforts.

Rating: 5 Lukes

This week for Comics Newbie, I am reviewing the first issue of Snapshot by Image Comics.

Since I have started reading comics I have found that Image is a great publisher for a new reader.   Jumping into DC and Marvel was a daunting task as it was tough to find a jumping on point whereas Image regularly release a new series to jump into.

Snapshot #1 is written by Andy Diggle with art by Jock (very mysterious one word name).

The story in a snapshot (pun intended) is as follows:

– Jake Dobson finds a phone in a park
– Jake discovers that the phone has one contact and a picture of a dead body
– The phone rings…

I will not reveal any more of the story as I do not want to spoil anything.

Although the idea of finding a device with a picture of a dead body is not a new one I was intrigued about where the story is heading.  I must admit though that I did not feel much sympathy for Jake as he comes off as a jerk.

I have heard that some comic readers are turned off by comics in black and white. Snapshot is a black and white comic and I believe the decision for that  is a good one so please do not let that deter you from reading. As a result, the artwork as a whole for this issue was fantastic.  A highlight of mine was a panel around the middle of the issue which showed how at a certain moment in time Jake was alone.  Great work by Jock.

I cannot wait for Issue #2 to come out in March and I highly recommend getting down to your local comic shop and picking this up.

Overall I give Snapshot #1  3.5 Lukes

For my next review I will give my impressions on the first two issues of the Brian Wood’s Star Wars series by Dark Horse Comics.

I would love to hear your feedback.  Please comment below or you can contact me via Twitter @bennykane1983.  If you have suggestions on other titles that I should read would love to hear from you.

Benny